We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee, because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
Meditation: Consider this first fall of Jesus under His cross. His flesh was torn by the scourges, His head crowned with thorns, and He had lost a great quantity of blood. He was so weakend that He could scarcely walk, and yet He had to carry this great load upon His shoulders. The soldiers stuck Him rudely, and thus He fell several times in His journey.
Prayer: My beloved Jesus, it is not the weight of the cross, but of my sins, which has made Thee suffer so much pain. Ah, by the merits of this first fall, deliver me from the misfortune of falling into mortal sin. I love Thee, O my Jesus, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always and then do with me what Thou wilt.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Lord Jesus, crucified, have mercy on us!
The penalty of scourging prescribed by Moses in the Jewish law is numbered by 40 strokes. Our Lord received over 121 strokes as counted on the Shroud of Turin. Add to this excessive cruelty that He was crowned with a wreath of thorns as mockery for claiming to be a king. As Jesus begins His journey towards Calvary, He and the two theives are whipped along the way. He falls, His face and body hitting the ground hard under the weight of the cross piece, unable to catch Himself. The thought of this tears at my heart and my sensible emotions. How much pain He endured! But then to wonder at how great the burden actually was – not only the physical weight of the cross and the pain of His abuses, but the weight of every sin committed and yet to be committed in all of time. I can barely bear the weight of my own sins and absolutely would be lost under them but for the grace of God. With this knowledge and unsurpassed love, Jesus returns to His feet and forges on. Let us walk with Him.
Oh, how sad and sore distressed Was that Mother highly blessed of the sole-begotten One!
